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February 13-19, 2014 online at www.connectionnewspapers.com

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Mountain View High Schoolgraduation speaker Aya

Abdelhalim celebrates with (fromleft) her aunt, Linda Carter, and

her mother, Maha Abdelhalim.

Mountain View High Schoolgraduation speaker Aya

Abdelhalim celebrates with (fromleft) her aunt, Linda Carter, and

her mother, Maha Abdelhalim.

WHS Presents WinterOne-Act Play FestivalNews, Page 4

School Board VotesFor Longer SLEEPNews, Page 10

Westfield’s Freix WinsConference 5 All-Around TitleSports, Page 12

WHS Presents WinterOne-Act Play FestivalNews, Page 4

School Board VotesFor Longer SLEEPNews, Page 10

Westfield’s Freix WinsConference 5 All-Around TitleSports, Page 12

2 ❖ Chantilly Connection ❖ February 13-19, 2014 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

News

By Bonnie Hobbs

The Connection

Before Mountain View’s graduatingseniors received their diplomaslast week, Principal Dave Jagelsshared some words of wisdom .

“As I look out at you, I am in awe of life’sobstacles that some of you overcame to bewhere you sit today,” he said. “When I lookat you, I see courage.”

Jagels said author Malcolm Gladwell de-scribes courage not as something peoplealready have. According to Gladwell, “Cour-age is what you earn when you’ve beenthrough the tough times and you discoverthey aren’t so tough, after all.”

Jagels also quoted resiliency expert NanHenderson who defined resiliency as “thecapacity to spring back, rebound, success-fully adapt in the face of adversity, and de-velop social and academic competence de-spite exposure to severe stress.” He furthernoted a large study done of at-risk childrenfrom birth to their mid-30s.

He said the ones that bounced back tolead happy and successful lives reportedthat someone along the way told them

things such as, “You matter,” and “It doesn’tmatter what you’ve done in the past.” Theyalso said the most helpful programs pro-vided support similar to an extended fam-ily.

Henderson wrote that people reboundfrom seemingly insurmountable obstaclesby drawing upon their own, internal re-sources and by encountering people, orga-nizations and activities that provide themwith conditions fostering the emergence oftheir resilience.

“I’ve been asked before, ‘How does Moun-tain View do it? How do we, the MountainView staff, help students find success?’” saidJagels. “I believe a large part of our successlies within [the school’s motto], ‘Family,love, respect.’”

He told the seniors they’ve had the se-crets to success inside them, all along. Theyjust needed to be placed in the right atmo-sphere and around the right people to seetheir potential blossom.

“The power of Mountain View is all basedon relationships – the ones we have withyou and with one another,” said Jagels.“We’re all committed to helping you findsuccess.” He then recognized the teachers.

“I’ve heard some of you seniors say thatyou wouldn’t be where you are withoutsome of the teachers and staff that are heretoday,” said Jagels. “Teachers and staff of

Mountain View, you’ve touched a numberof these students sitting with you today. Iwant to thank you for the many hours youspent helping them, including Saturdaysand Sundays where you gave up your owntime to be with them.”

He also thanked them for “being theshoulder to cry on or the person there togive a hug when things were beyond bear-able. Thank you for mentoring these stu-dents, calling home when they weren’t inschool and giving so much of yourselves tohelp these students get to where they areright now.

“I see your efforts on a daily basis andcan say I’m humbled to be part of such agiving staff. Students, I want you to remem-ber the tenets of Mountain View. Our mottoof ‘Family, Love and Respect’ [exemplifies]some of these protective factors that canhelp you overcome life’s obstacles.”

Then, in a takeoff on author RobertFulghum’s book, “All I Really Needed toKnow, I Learned in Kindergarten,” Jagelsgave his own advice to the seniors, basedon the school’s motto:

❖ “Life is about relationships; we learnfrom all of them, good and bad. Withoutthem, we’re lost. We all need someone tolean on, from time to time.

❖ Everybody deserves a second chance –some, a third, fourth or fifth chance.

❖ Laugh a little every day.❖ View the world around you and [no-

tice] how you interact in it. Pay attentionand don’t miss the little things.

❖ Accept and celebrate people’s differ-ences. This truly is what makes the worldgo around.

❖ Strive to be independent. Don’t let debt,drugs or other influences control you oryour life.

❖ Have a positive view of your future,regardless of what life throws at you.

❖ Be Flexible: ‘When life gives you lem-ons, make lemonade.’

❖ Develop a love of learning; find yourpassions and learn as much as you can aboutthem.

❖ Find your motivation; you’re in chargeof where your life is headed. No one elsecan do it for you; life is what you make ofit.

❖ Believe in something bigger than your-self.

❖ Be creative: Draw, invent, write anddance a little every day.

❖ Persevere: Even when life gets hard,don’t you dare give up.”

“Seniors, you have the resolve, character,courage and resiliency to be successful,”continued Jagels. “The stories you shareabout your lives and the obstacles you’veovercome demonstrate, in a way, that you’vealready taken some of the first steps to be-ing successful in life. Let ‘Family, Love andRespect’ be some of the guiding principlesin your life. Don’t ever give up — ever.”

‘Don’t Ever Give Up — Ever’Principal offers adviceto graduating seniors.


NewsChantilly Connection Editor Steven Mauren

703-778-9415 or [email protected]

By Bonnie Hobbs

The Connection

Students attending Mountain ViewHigh aren’t like others in FairfaxCounty. Besides those grapplingwith language barriers are students

who’ve had to overcome a variety of ob-stacles to succeed in school.

But with help and guidance from theirclassmates, teachers, counselors and admin-istrators, 61 of them donned caps andgowns, last Friday, Feb. 7, and filed intoCentreville High’s auditorium for theirschool’s winter graduation.

“Seniors, it’s been an absolute honor tobe your principal,” said Principal DaveJagels. “We are so very proud of you.”

Then, as is Mountain View’s tradition,three students shared their personal storieswith those who’d come to the ceremony.They were filled with emotion and left boththem and the audience wiping away tears.

First to speak was Abby Fernald. She’dspent three years at her former high school,but things continually worsened for her.“Battling with depression, I began actingout,” she said. “So in June, I attended aninterest meeting at Mountain View. I wasfeeling hopeless, but I didn’t want to riskfailing my senior year.”

Starting school in September 2013,Fernald was “frightened about the decisionI’d made. I thought Mountain View was fullof mean, rule-breaking students. But in-stead, I found people who showed me thisschool would support me and I began toenjoy myself.”

She excelled beyond her own expecta-tions and made the honor roll. “I’m nowgraduating and I owe a huge thanks to myteachers for helping, supporting and en-couraging me,” she said. “I’m happy for theopportunity to attend such an amazingschool.”

Gabby Linares had a tough time at herprevious high school, too. Right from thestart, she was bullied. “The other studentscalled me fat and ugly, and some girlsthreatened to beat me up,” she said. “I satby myself during lunch, but food wasthrown at me. As my junior year began, Iwas afraid to attend school. That spring, Igot beaten up, and a girl broke my glasseswhile the others laughed.”

By last summer, before her senior year,said Linares, “I was depressed and suicidalbecause of all the bullying. So I decided tocome to Mountain View. I was nervous atfirst, but I felt welcomed by the staff andstudents — who were more mature thanthe students in my other school.”

Initially, Linares expected the bullying tocontinue at Mountain View, but eventuallyovercame that fear. “My counselors gave meadvice and helped me deal with my prob-lems,” she said. “I now have pride and con-fidence in myself. Here, the counselors,

teachers and administrators take the timeto listen to the students and help them.”

She then thanked her mother, Maria, andbrother, Fernando, for being “the motiva-tion to get me here today. Being at Moun-tain View gave me the strength to not giveup and to continue school — thank you.”

The final speaker, Aya Abdelhalim, was atrack star at her former high school andstrived for perfection. “But like the box of ajigsaw puzzle, people only saw my cover,”she said. “They never saw the pieces on theinside.”

Her problems started much earlier,though. The aftermath of a tragedy pro-pelled her into a downward, emotional spi-ral. “When I was 10 months old, my fatherwas killed in a car accident,” saidAbdelhalim. “As I grew up, I felt empty.”

Then, as tears spilled from her eyes, she

fell silent, unable to speak. A classmateyelled out, “That’s OK; you can do it,” andthe audience began clapping. Composingherself, she resumed. “Not a day goes by,”she said, “when I don’t imagine how my lifewould have been changed if he’d beenhere.”

As it was, said Abdelhalim, she startedcutting class, lacked the motivation to suc-ceed in school and had “little desire to live.”Making matters worse, she said, “I had sea-sonal depression. When the weather gotcolder and darker, I enclosed my depres-sion in a bottle. But it didn’t take long forthat bottle to break.”

But in May 2013, she came to MountainView for a fresh start. “I was determined to

do better for myself and in my father’shonor,” she said. “The teachers and admin-istrators made me feel good about myself;this school was my safe place.”

Now, said Abdelhalim, “I’m trying to dobetter and make better choices.” She thenencouraged teachers everywhere to realizethat “all students have hopes and dreams,as well as strengths and weaknesses. Like apuzzle, help them put those pieces of them-selves together.”

Stepping to the podium after her, Assis-tant Principal Gary Morris choked up, too.“Now you know why we come to schoolevery day,” he said. “To all the parents,thank you for sharing your children withus. They’ve achieved so much after over-coming significant obstacles.”

Three Receive AwardsThree students received awards last week

during Mountain View’s winter graduationceremony. They were as follows:❖ Citizenship Award: Abby Fernald❖ Personal Achievement Award: Elena “Chely”

Cifuentes❖ Faculty Award: Cesar Chavez.

‘This School Was My Safe Place’Mountain View High holds winter graduation.

Social Studies Department ChairPete Garvey presents the Citizen-ship Award to Abby Fernald.

Elena “Chely” Cifuentes receivesthe Personal Achievement Awardfrom math and social studiesteacher Laura Leydon.

Cesar Chavez receives the FacultyAward from math teacher AnneHoffman.

Luis Amaya and his mom, AnaVasquez, of Centreville’s SullyStation II community, after gradua-tion.

Grad Shamira Howell ofCentreville celebrateswith (from left) bestfriend Deja Preston,mom Nancy Palmer,cousin Janeen Sullivan,aunt Lena Sullivan andsister Alexus Palmer.

New grad Shareef Hussam of SullyStation II poses with (from left)cousin Somaiah Ahmed and sisterTasneem Hussam.

Grad speaker Gabby Linares re-ceives her diploma from PrincipalDave Jagels.

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News

See Roundups, Page 7

See WHS Presents, Page 13

Assault, Brandishing FirearmFairfax County police have charged a 15-year-old Centreville

boy with assault by mob and brandishing a firearm. They say theincidents occurred last Saturday, Feb. 8, at 5:38 p.m. in the 14000block of St. Germain Drive in Centreville.

According to police, a man was driving through a parking lotwhen someone stepped in front of the vehicle and displayed agun. The suspect then approached the victim on the driver’s sideand pointed the weapon through the driver’s-side window. Thevictim was able to wrestle the gun away from the suspect, whothen began assaulting the victim.

The victim was able to exit his vehicle when he was addition-ally assaulted by three accomplices of the suspect. The three ac-complices fled upon police arrival, but the victim was able todetain the suspect, the 15-year-old boy. The victim received non-life threatening injuries and didn’t require transport to a hospi-tal. Police say the gun was an Airsoft BB gun.

Two Charged: Driving ImpairedOn Saturday, Feb. 8, police officers from the Sully District Sta-

tion patrolled Fairfax County searching for drunk drivers. Theycharged two drivers with DWI/DUI and issued 12 summonsesand four warning. They also levied four criminal charges.

WFCCA Land-Use MeetingChild care and a cell tower are on tap for the next meeting of

the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-UseCommittee. It’s slated for Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m., in the SullyDistrict Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd., in Chantilly.Agenda items are as follows:

❖ An application to provide child care at a home in Centreville’sSequoia Farms community. As proposed, there will be 12 chil-dren in the home day care facility.

❖ A review of the cell tower proposed on Route 29, near GatePost Estates in Centreville. It’s near the electric station and avariety of other structures are already on that site.

Free Carseat InspectionsCertified technicians from the Sully District Police Station will

perform free, child safety carseat inspections Thursday, Feb. 13,from 5-8:30 p.m., at the station, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd. inChantilly. No appointment is necessary. But residents should in-stall the child safety seats themselves so technicians may prop-erly inspect and adjust them, as needed.

However, because of time constraints, only the first 35 vehiclesarriving on each date will be inspected. That way, inspectors mayhave enough time to properly instruct the caregiver on the cor-rect use of the child seat. Call 703-814-7000, ext. 5140, to con-firm dates and times.

Shelter Animals Need HomesThe Fairfax County Animal Shelter invites residents to make

Valentine’s Day happy for animals needing good homes. Visit theshelter Thursday, Feb. 13, through Saturday, Feb. 15, to enjoyfree treats like candy and ice cream, hands-on fun with kittensand puppies and fee-waived adoptions on 10 of the shelter’s ani-mals.

The shelter, at 4500 West Ox Road in Fairfax, is open Tuesdaythrough Friday, noon-7 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. At-tendees may also learn about opportunities to volunteer and tofoster homeless pets.

Recycle During Electric SundayResidents may recycle old TVs, computers, peripheral electronic

devices — such as keyboards, speakers, printers and scanners,as well as household hazardous wastes — including fluorescentlight bulbs and tubes, for free, during Fairfax County’s “ElectricSunday” events. The next one is slated for Sunday, Feb. 23, from10 a.m.-3 p.m., at the I-66 Transfer Station, 4618 West Ox Road

Roundups

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Comedy, drama and even a full-lengthmusical are all part of Westfield High’sWinter One-Act Play Festival. The cur-tain rises this Thursday-Saturday, Feb.

13-15, at 7 p.m., in the school theater.Tickets are $10 for one night, $18 for any two

nights or $25 for all three nights. Go towww.westfieldtheatreboosters.com. Here’s what’s ontap:

❖ Thursday, Feb. 13: “The Dance” and “Jared”❖ Friday, Feb. 14: “13 Ways to Screw up Your Col-

lege Interview” and “Suddenly Last Summer”❖ Saturday, Feb. 15: “The Two-Character Play” and

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

‘The Dance’Sophomore Catherine Crossett is directing “The

Dance;” classmate Gabby Moses is assistant director.A comedy about a high-school Valentine’s Day dance,love and how things can change, it’s an ensemblepiece with 16 characters.

“There’s the popular clique, the awkward coupleand the boy-crazy girls,” said Moses. The entire The-ater II class chipped in story ideas and she wrote thescript, which Crossett describes as “witty and heart-warming.”

“It’s realistic and people will be able to relate toit,” said Moses. “These are things that actually dohappen in high school.”

Having a good time directing, Crossett said, “It’s anew experience for me and it’s fun. Instead of beingan actor, it gives me a new perspective. And it’s hard

establishing a professional relationship with yourpeers. But seeing your ideas be put into actiononstage is a really cool feeling. And it’s interestingbeing the one giving the directions, instead of re-ceiving them.”

‘Jared’Westfield Theater Director Shannon Lynch is guid-

ing “Jared” with help from Assistant Director Mor-gan Perigard, a sophomore. Featuring a cast of about12, it focuses on three teens — portrayed by MishaMullany, Jason Lucas and Keegan Garant — and atherapist, played by Perigard.

“The teenagers recently lost a friend to suicide and,by talking about it, they take the audience throughtheir own, personal stories about depression,” saidPerigard. “It’s a drama but, at the end, it gives peoplehope for the future.”

She said it’s relatable because “suicide and depres-sion are tough to talk about in high school, but wehandle it well. And I think everyone has had some-thing in their lives that’s hard to deal with, such asproblems with parents, school or friends.”

In addition, Westfield took third place in the Jan.30 VHSL theater competition at Hendon High withthis play. “There’s a strong ensemble, and we alsoincorporated aspects of physical theater into it,” saidPerigard. “I helped do that and did the costumes,too.” Regarding directing, she said, “I learned thatyou have to go with your instincts and do what thedirector thinks is best.”

‘College Interview’A comedy, “13 Ways to Screw up Your College In-

terview” is directed by senior Colin Edner. “It’s abouttwo interviewers who need to get one more studentto enroll in their college or they’re fired,” he said.“The dean still blames them for accepting the pyro-maniac who burned down the science center.”

From left are Westfield student directors Catherine Crossett, Gabby Moses, ColinEdner, Hanna Soudah, Morgan Perigard and Julian Sanchez.

Comedy, Drama and a MusicalWestfield Highpresents WinterOne-Act Play Festival.

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Schools

Annual Spelling BeeRocky Run students competed in the 5th Annual Rocky Run

Spelling Bee on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Twenty-two studentsparticipated in the competition which was judged by fourcurrent or retired teachers. To qualify for the Bee, each stu-dent was required to attend two mandatory practice sessions.Besides coordinating the event, 7th grade English teacherCorey Wetzel was also the moderator in which she had to readand pronounce all 137 words used in the contest. The win-ning word was “pandiculation:” the act of stretching andyawning, especially on waking. The winner was PreetiUppuluri and the runner-up was Rishadh Krishnan. Both stu-dents (in photo) are 7th graders. Preeti will now representRocky Run at the Fairfax County Spelling Bee to be held onThursday, March 13, at Lanier Middle School. The winner ofthat competition will then move on to the National SpellingBee in Washington, D.C.

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Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is Thursday at noon. Photos are welcome.

Eric Hautbois, from Fairfax, was named to the dean’s listat the University of Charleston.

Amanda Ploetz, of Oak Hill, was named to ClemsonUniversity president’s list for the fall 2013 semester.

Lawrence Dickt, of Oak Hill, was among students fromPatrick Henry Community College who made the fall 2013honor’s list.

The following area students made the dean’s list at JamesMadison University for the fall 2013 semester: Samuel Fineof Oak Hill, a senior; Sarah Florjancic of Oak Hill, a senior;Elyssa Fogleman of Herndon, a sophomore; Mark Friesof Herndon, a senior; Matthew Galle of Herndon, a fresh-man; Jenna Goffe of Chantilly, a senior; Nikhil Gokhaleof Fairfax, a freshman; Joshua Gordon of Chantilly, asophomore; Sarah Graupp of Herndon, a senior; JeanneGuillen of Chantilly, a senior; Michael-leo Haddad ofFairfax, a sophomore; Victoria Hafner of Chantilly, a jun-ior; Jacqueline Herrick of Herndon, a freshman; DianaHo of Herndon, a sophomore; Brian Hope of Fairfax, asenior; Cara Howley of Herndon, a freshman; KennethHuynh of Chantilly, a senior; Kevin Ichord of Fairfax, asenior; Ramana Kalicheti of Oak Hill, a junior; ElyKaplan of Herndon, a freshman; and Hilary Kurland ofHerndon, a senior.

School Notes

Email announcements to [email protected]. Photos are welcome.

Army Cadet Matthew L. Rambin has enrolled in theArmy ROTC Early Commissioning Program. Rambin is a stu-dent at Marion Military Institute, Marion, Ala. He is the sonof Mitchell L. and Patricia A. Rambin of Fairfax. Rambingraduated in 2013 from Chantilly High School.

Military Notes

Send Your Photos & Stories Now [email protected]

or complete our online form at centre-view.comBe sure to include your name, address and phone number, and identify

all people and pets in photos. Submission deadline is February 20.

Be Part of ThePet Connection in February


Opinion

While the General Assembly ismaking progress in fixing someof the egregious shortcomingsof the way Virginia provides

emergency services to people in mental healthcrisis, many fewer people are receiving men-tal health services in Northern Virginia.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds’ son died of suicidelate last year after the limitations in both thelaw and local communication resulted in himbeing released while still in the midstof crisis.

Deeds reports the progress on the billthat has passed the State Senate: “Theomnibus bill will require subjects be held upto 24 hours under an emergency custody or-der, create a database of available psychiatricbeds, and ensure people in need of hospital-ization cannot be ‘streeted’ by establishing statehospitals as providers of last resort.”

These are important steps.Services to people with mental illness are

provided on the local level by community ser-vices boards, and in Fairfax County in particu-lar, those services have been dramatically cutback.

Reporter Michael Pope reports this week thatsince 2009, the number of people receiving

mental health services in Fairfax County hasdeclined by 39 percent. Alcohol and drug ser-vice have dropped 43 percent. Services forthose with intellectual disability have declined39 percent.

Officials quoted cite the recession and de-clining property tax revenues in explaining thereductions, along with some changes in theway services are counted.

No matter how services are counted, thereis no question that they have been re-duced significantly during a recession,a time when research shows the needfor mental health services and alcohol

and drug services actually increases.In Arlington, the number of people who re-

ceive mental health services has declined by 6percent. The number of people who receivesubstance abuse services has decreased by 13percent.

“Stresses associated with rising unemploy-ment, poverty and social insecurity will leadto upward trends in many national suiciderates, as well as to less readily charted increasesin the prevalence of psychiatric illness, alco-hol-related disorders and illicit drug use,” ac-cording to a 2011 overview study on economicrecession and mental health cited by the Na-

tional Institutes of Health. “At the same time,mental health services are being cut back aspart of government austerity programs. Bud-get cuts will thus affect psychiatric servicesadversely just when economic stressors areraising the levels of need and demand in af-fected populations.”

As for blaming the budget, it’s hard to seefrom raw numbers why the most vulnerableshould be suffering. In 2009, before the effectsof the recession, Fairfax County’s budget ex-penditures were $5.36 billion. The adopted2014 budget calls for expenditures of $6.75billion.

“Proactive fiscal and social policies could,however, help to mitigate the health conse-quences of recession,” the overview study re-ports. “Economic mental health care could bestbe achieved, not by decimating services but byplanning and deploying these to meet theneeds of defined area populations.”

Elected officials and others in county gov-ernment who have signed off on a set of pri-orities that punishes the most vulnerable popu-lations have some moral accounting to do.

— Mary Kimm

[email protected]

Addressing Mental Health

Editorial

Fully Fund the SchoolsTo the Editor:

Regarding teacher pay and working condi-tions in Fairfax County:

As a 10-year resident of Fairfax County andemployee of Fairfax County Public Schools, Ihave been around long enough to see the goodand the bad. I’ve been paid well enough to buymy own home and start a family, but I’ve alsoseen budget woes shrink my class sizes andsend me in search of classes to teach at otherschools in order to remain full time. Currentlywe face another round of belt tightening, andbefore we go through that again, I feel thevoices of our educators need to be heard.

For the first half of my career, my job justgot easier and easier as I gained skill and mas-tered my presentation of the curriculum. Totop it all off, I got paid progressively more andmore. For the last five years, however, my jobhas gotten harder and harder, and I have beenpaid less and less. We have faced federal, state,and local pressure to increase testing of ourstudents, which inherently takes away from thetime we actually spend educating them. Ourenrollment in Fairfax continues to increase, asour county is an economic engine for the stateand our school system a model for the nation.However, having just prepared my 2013 taxesand comparing them to the figures from 2012,it is clear that I and my wife, also a teacher,made several thousand dollars less last yearcompared to the year before, largely due tothe state-mandated changes to the VirginiaRetirement System. We are literally doing morework for less money.

I do not intend to make this entirely an is-sue of pay. My family prepares a budget everyyear, and we always take into account the stepincrease printed on the salary scale for a givenyear. Even if we receive no adjustment for in-

creases in cost of living, I can make sure thatmy family will be provided for, as long as ourstep increase is guaranteed. As teachers, mywife and I are both well aware that our com-pensation, including benefits, will more thancover our basic needs. My primary concern iswith the level of work we are being asked todo.

Next year we face another round of increasedtesting and increased class sizes, which shrinkthe number of classes we teach at our baseschools and send us out searching for moreclasses to teach around the county. This is notonly a disservice to us, as employees of FCPS,but above all to the students. In the darkestdays of the last budget crunch, I taught a classwith 38 students officially on the roster. Over40 attempted to sign up, but rather than beingsplit into two classes, several students wereturned away, asked to take up study of anothersubject. I fear that this sort of travesty will playout again next year, not only for myself, butfor countless other students and teachers acrossthe county.

If FCPS wishes to maintain its stellar repu-tation as an educational model for our localarea and the nation, it must make ensuringreasonable class sizes a priority. It seems thatthe Virginia General Assembly may finally bereducing the testing burden our students andeducators face, which is encouraging. We mayneed to, if necessary, forgo cost of living in-crease for another year. Speaking for myself,this I can tolerate, so long as we receive ourpromised step increase. What we cannot do ispile more work on our teachers and continueto pay them less. We cannot pile more studentsinto the classroom and expect the level of ex-cellence in education to which we have becomeaccustomed in Fairfax. Speaking for the aver-age teacher in our schools, we must insist thatthe Fairfax County Board of Supervisors fund

Letters to the Editor

our schools at the level requested by Dr. Garzaand the School Board.

Glenn M. RifeGerman Teacher

Westfield High school

On EqualityTo the Editor:

While supermarkets are clamoring to filltheir shelves with chocolates, cards, and over-priced stuffed animals, February marks anotherimportant event besides the quintessentialValentine’s Day. Black History Month is an an-nual celebration throughout the month of Feb-ruary for the commemoration of significantindividuals and events in the history of the Af-rican Diaspora. Martin Luther King Jr. remainsfresh in our minds as we recall his efforts to-wards brotherhood and equality during thismonth of remembrance.

Incidentally, I am reminded of another manwho worked tirelessly for equality and broth-erhood nearly 1400 years ago: the ProphetMuhammad (peace and blessings be on him).Muhammad’s life is the most iconic portrayalof his dedication to civil rights, whether it beraising the status of slaves, women, and or-phans, or establishing racial equality amongstthe mixed population of Arabia. In his Fare-well Sermon (coincidentally in February),Muhammad left his followers with these finalwords: “A white has no superiority over a blacknor a black has any superiority over a whiteexcept by piety and good action.” It is this time-less advice that we can consider as we remem-ber Martin Luther King Jr. and many otherbrave and tireless individuals who fought forracial and social equality that we honor dur-ing Black History Month.

Shumaila AhmadChantilly

www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

@ChantillyConnec

Newspaper ofChantilly

Fair Oaks / Fair LakesA Connection Newspaper

An independent, locally owned weeklynewspaper delivered

to homes and businesses.Published by

Local Media Connection LLC

1606 King StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314

Free digital edition delivered toyour email box. Go to

connectionnewspapers.com/subscribe

NEWS DEPARTMENT:To discuss ideas and concerns, Call:

703-778-9410e-mail:

[email protected]

Steven Mauren Editor, 703-778-9415

[email protected]

Bonnie HobbsCommunity Reporter, [email protected]

Jon RoetmanSports Editor, 703-224-3015

[email protected]@jonroetman

ADVERTISING:For advertising information

e-mail:[email protected]

Karen WashburnDisplay Advertising, 703-778-9422

[email protected]

Kim TaiediDisplay Advertising, 703-778-9423

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Andrea SmithClassified Advertising, [email protected]

Debbie FunkNational Sales703-778-9444

[email protected]

Editor & PublisherMary Kimm

[email protected]

@MaryKimm

Executive Vice PresidentJerry Vernon

[email protected]

Editor in ChiefSteven Mauren

Managing EditorKemal KurspahicPhotography:

Deb Cobb, Craig SterbutzelArt/Design:

Laurence Foong, John HeinlyProduction Manager:

Geovani Flores

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CIRCULATION: 703-778-9426Circulation Manager:

Linda [email protected]

Chantilly


It’s Graduation time!Are you ready to fill

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7 Things You Must Know BeforePutting Your Home Up for SaleFairfax/Centreville – A new

report has just been released whichreveals 7 costly mistakes that mosthomeowners make when sellingtheir home, and a 9 Step Systemthat can help you sell your homefast and for the most amount ofmoney.

This industry report showsclearly how the traditional ways ofselling homes have becomeincreasingly less and less effectivein today’s market. The fact of thematter is that fully three quarters ofhome sellers don’t get what theywant for their homes, and becomedisillusioned – and worse – finan-cially disadvantaged when they puttheir homes on the market.

As this report uncovers, most

home sellers make 7 deadly mis-takes that cost them literally thou-sands of dollars. The good news isthat each and every one of thesemistakes is entirely preventable. Inanswer to this issue, industry insid-ers have prepared a free specialreport entitled “The 9 Step Systemto Get Your Home Sold Fast andFor Top Dollar.”

To order a FREE SpecialReport, and hear a brief recordedmessage about how to order yourFREE copy of this report, call toll-free 1-866-274-2234 and enter1000. You can call any time, 24hours a day, 7 days a week.

Get your free special reportNOW to find out how you can getthe most money for your home.

From Page 4

News

Roundups

in Fairfax. For more information, call 703-324-5052.

Food Donations for WFCMWestern Fairfax Christian Ministries’ food pantry urgently needs donations

of spaghetti sauce, fruit juice, cooking oil; pancake mix and syrup, sugar, flourand canned fruit and meat. (Also needed are toothpaste, deodorant, babywipes and shampoo).

Bring all items to WFCM’S new food-pantry location, weekdays, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at 13888 Metrotech Drive, near Papa John’s Pizza and Kumon Learn-ing Center, in Chantilly’s Sully Place Shopping Center.

Thrift-store needs include coats, fall and winter clothing, like-new houseware,plus Bibles in English and Spanish. The store is at 13939 Metrotech Drive. Inaddition, Thrift Store volunteers are needed for two- to four-hour shifts Fri-days, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Saturdays, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

How to Hire CLRC WorkersThe Centreville Labor Resource Center (CLRC) serves businesses and

homeowners needing help with just about any home remodeling or mainte-nance project. And local residents who’d like to hire a worker from the CLRCmay do so easily. Either call 703-543-6272 or go to www.centrevilleLRC.organd click on the “How to Hire” link. Tell what kind of work is required, howmany workers are needed and when.

The CLRC will match the needs to its registered workers’ skills and set upthe job. The price for work will be negotiated. After the job is completed,employers are encouraged to provide the CLRC with feedback to ensure thatthe work was done well and to their satisfaction and to make sure the workersare fairly paid.

By Bonnie Hobbs

Centre View

Culminating months of work, investi-gators from the Fairfax County FireMarshal’s Office have charged a lo-

cal man with two felonies for allegedly set-ting fires in homes while their occupants wereasleep. He is Mergen Battulga, 37, of FairOaks.

He was charged with one count of mali-ciously burning an occupied dwelling and onecount of maliciously setting a fire capable ofspreading. His arrest was in connection withfour fires on Mozart Brigade Lane and oneblaze on Fairfield House Way in Fair Oaks.

Battulga was arrested last Friday, Feb. 7,shortly after noon. He was arraigned in courtMonday, Feb. 10, and is currently being heldwithout bond in the Fairfax County Adult De-tention Center.

“We believe this gentlemen to be a serialarsonist,” said Chief Fire Marshal Mike Reilly.“Over the last six months, we’ve had a seriesof five fires in the Fair Oaks area. We’ve done

exhaustive investigative work and developedhim as a suspect. So far, he’s only been chargedwith two offenses, but the investigation is stillongoing.”

All the homes were near Monument Drive,within a half-mile radius of each other, andall were garden apartments. Reilly said acouple of the fires were started in areas thathad sprinkler systems, so they were able to beextinguished early before major damage wasdone.

However, he noted that all the homes wereoccupied when their fires began. “Many of thefires occurred between 2-5 a.m., when peopleare sleeping, so dire circumstances could haveresulted,” said Reilly. “These fires could havecaused a significant loss of life and propertyhad there not been fire-protection systems inplace that caught them.”

He said 15 or 16 investigators have beenworking on these cases and continue to doso. And he praised them for their hard work.

“I’m so proud of my investigators — they’rean outstanding crew,” said Reilly. “Arson firesare difficult to solve without an eyewitness orthe perpetrator being caught in the act. Butthese investigators have put in an extensiveamount of time and effort and, in the end, itpaid off.”

Man Faces Arson ChargesOccupants were homeasleep at the time.


Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/

The Connection

Address .................................... BR FB HB ..... Postal City ..... Sold Price .. Type ....... Lot AC .. PostalCode ........ Subdivision .......... Date Sold

2 6512 STALLION RD .................. 5 .. 6 .. 0 ......... CLIFTON ..... $1,850,000 ... Detached ... 5.27 ........ 20124 CLOVERLEAF FARM ESTATES 12/03/13

2 6151 REZA CT ......................... 6 .. 4 .. 2 ...... SPRINGFIELD .. $1,392,649 ... Detached ... 0.35 ........ 22152 .......CARDINAL ESTATES ...... 11/07/13

3 11100 DEVEREUX STATION LN .. 4 .. 4 .. 1 ... FAIRFAX STATION $1,225,000 ... Detached ... 5.01 ........ 22039 ...... DEVEREUX STATION ..... 12/05/13

4 10600 SANDY RUN TRL ............ 5 .. 3 .. 1 ... FAIRFAX STATION $1,225,000 ... Detached ... 6.03 ........ 22039 ........... SHADOWALK .......... 12/16/13

5 3442 PRESERVATION DR ........... 5 .. 4 .. 1 .......... FAIRFAX ...... $1,180,000 ... Detached ... 0.17 ........ 22031 ...... PICKETT’S RESERVE ...... 11/27/13

6 11133 SANDY MANOR DR ........ 5 .. 4 .. 1 ... FAIRFAX STATION $1,050,000 ... Detached ... 5.00 ........ 22039 SANDY RUN FOREST ESTATES11/20/13

7 10608 KILCORMAC WAY ........... 5 .. 5 .. 1 ... FAIRFAX STATION $1,000,000 ... Detached ... 5.00 ........ 22039 ............. KILLARNEY ............ 11/21/13

8 10707 SCOTT DR ..................... 4 .. 3 .. 1 .......... FAIRFAX ......... $974,900 ... Detached ... 0.51 ........ 22030 ............ BFA MYERS ............ 12/20/13

9 10509 CENTER ST .................... 5 .. 3 .. 1 .......... FAIRFAX ......... $965,000 ... Detached ... 0.61 ........ 22030 ...... CARRIAGE LANDING ..... 11/05/13

10 13554 POINT PLEASANT DR ..... 5 .. 3 .. 1 ........ CHANTILLY ....... $675,000 ... Detached ... 0.26 ........ 20151 .... POPLAR TREE ESTATES ... 11/22/13

11 5915 CLERMONT LANDING CT . 4 .. 2 .. 1 ........... BURKE .......... $635,011 ... Detached ... 0.19 ........ 22015 ......... BURKE CENTRE ......... 11/08/13

12 6700 BAY VALLEY LN ................ 5 .. 4 .. 0 ...... CENTREVILLE ..... $630,000 ... Detached ... 0.26 ........ 20121 .......... GREEN TRAILS ......... 11/15/13

Copyright 2014 RealEstate Business Intelligence. Source: MRIS as of January 15, 2014.

Local REAL ESTATETop Sales inNovember andDecember, 2013

7

6

1

4

89 5

3

211

12

© Google Map data

10

6 11133 Sandy Manor Drive,Fairfax Station — $1,050,000

7 10608 Kilcorma Way,Fairfax Station — $1,000,000

9 10509 Center Street,Fairfax — $965,000

10 13554 Point Pleasant Drive,Chantilly — $675,000 11 5915 Clermont Landing Court,

Burke — $635,01112 6700 Bay Valley Lane,Centreville — $630,000


Home LifeStyle

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Remodeling industry profession-als spend their days helping cli-ents create dream homes, add-ing quartzite counter tops and

outdoor, stacked stone fireplaces, turningideas and photos into functional, chic liv-ing spaces.

But what about their homes? What ma-terials do they choose for themselves? Howdo they make the most of their livingspaces? Three local professionals fromBOWA Builders, Inc. opened their doors andshared the secrets of their renovations.

When principal and owner GeorgeHodges-Fulton and his wife, Alexandra,decided to remodel the galley kitchen intheir Reston home, they decided to expandand change the flow of traffic, keeping thesafety of their 6- and 10-year-old daugh-ters in mind.

“We wanted to open the house up more,”said George Hodges-Fulton. “We took out awall between kitchen and the dining room.”

Alexandra Hodges-Fulton, a serious cook,added, “The sink and the stove were acrossfrom each other. Now the sink and the stoveare next to each other, so I don’t have towalk across the kitchen carrying hot pasta.”

The new kitchen also includes additionalcounter space. “I have more prep space,”she said. “And everything I need is withinarm’s reach.”

When it came to choosing finishes, “ev-erything came from wanting to work withthe [existing maple] floor,” said GeorgeHodges-Fulton. “We wanted to choose clas-sic colors that weren’t going to go out ofstyle.”

“I spent a huge amount of time looking

at pictures of kitchens,” said AlexandraHodges-Fulton. “We added white Carraramarble countertops. … We added a marblebacksplash in a black, white and grey cir-cular mosaic. That’s the thing that every-body comments on when they come intothe kitchen.”

The project took a mere five weeks tocomplete. “Everything happened perfectly,”added George Hodges-Fulton. “Having on-site supervision and knowing the end goalhelped.”

He says that having undergone his ownrenovation project, he now has additionalinsight when advising clients. “It makes asignificant difference,” he said. “We can say‘In my house I did this.’ or ‘I did this wrongin my house, so you might consider this.’”

When principal and owner Steve Kirsteinfirst moved into his Potomac, Md., homewith his wife and three children, he spot-ted several missed design opportunities.

“We needed some of the spaces to do dif-ferent things,” said Kirstein. “We wanted afamily gathering space and a display spaceupstairs.”

The home had a two-story foyer, whichKirstein saw as the perfect location for asecond floor family room. He added “floor-ing, sheetrock walls, built-in bookcases anddisplay cases. Now it’s a gathering space forthe family upstairs and we still have a dra-matic foyer downstairs.”

Next, Kirstein turned what he called, “abig wasted space” adjacent to the garageinto a mudroom. “We put a cubby anddrawer for each child and a bench for tak-ing off shoes. We added a half wall acrossfrom the cubbies so you can’t see all of thecleats and lacrosse sticks all over the floor.We also added a powder room.”

Kirstein also transformed his backyardinto an oasis. “Weadded a pool and en-tertaining area,” hesaid. “We redid everyfinish in the house.

I liked those smalltouches because theywere simple and easyand changed the waythe house looked.”

Founder, cochairmanand owner Josh Bakergrew up in Great Fallsand when it came timeto raise his family, heremained there. Heeven built a customhome where he plans to live long-term. “Alot of planning went into the future,” saidBaker. “The concept behind it was we wouldcreate a fun space for our children that theirchildren could eventually enjoy.”

He advises his clients to similarly planahead and think about how their needsmight evolve. “To make it a long-term home

is to not thinkabout just whatyou need now, butwhat you mightneed in the fu-ture,” he said. “Wedesigned a guestsuite on the firstfloor with the ideathat my wife and Icould live on onefloor once we’reempty nesters.”There is enoughspace for friendsand extendedfamily.

Baker said eachtime he and hiswife updated thehouse, they did sojudiciously. “Wemade smart deci-sions about smallthings that make abig difference. Forexample, wechanged tiles tomake it up-to-datewithout a huge re-model,” he said.

Baker’s experi-ence as a builderhelped him decideon the room sizesand layout of thehouse. “In termsof design, a lot of our house has a focus onlines of sight, informality and lots of light.… On our first floor, there are no partitionwalls in the common area.”

The rooms in the house are generous andcomfortable and space was used wisely,Baker said. “We focused on the feeling andfunctionality of the room rather than thesize of the room,” he said. “None of therooms are oversized, but they are func-

tional.”Wise use of space is

another lesson he shareswith clients. “At onetime, bedrooms with sit-ting rooms were verypopular,” said Baker.“But … a lot of our cli-ents don’t use them sowe’re repurposing thosespaces. In our masterbedroom, for example,we focused on walk-inclosets. Even our masterbathroom is spacious,but it is not vast.”

The Bakers designedtheir outdoor landscape to accommodatetheir penchant for relaxed entertaining.“We’re informal folks,” said Baker. “We liketo entertain, so we developed our landscap-ing to include an expansive entertainingarea and a swimming pool. We have a lotof outdoor parties. We can accommodate alarge group in our yard as well.”

Home Design: What the Pros KnowA look inside thehomes of some of thearea’s top builders.

Steve Kirstein, principal at BOWA Builders, Inc. turned what he called “abig wasted space” into a mudroom complete with a cubby and drawerfor each child.

Pho

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WA

Builders, In

c.

When George Hodges-Fulton, principal at BOWA Builders, Inc., and hiswife, Alexandra, decided to remodel the kitchen in their Reston home,they added white Carrara marble countertops and a marble backsplashin black, white and grey.

Hodges-Fulton

Kirstein

Baker

“To make it a long-term home is to notthink about just whatyou need now, butwhat you might needin the future,”

— Josh Baker, founder,co-chairman and owner,

BOWA Builders, Inc.


News

By Janelle Germanos

Centre View

According to SLEEP, a local groupadvocating for later high schoolstart times in Fairfax County, 72out of 92 counties in Virginia

have a high school start time of 8 a.m. orlater.

Many students and parents say that the7:20 a.m. start time of high schools inFairfax County is having a devastating ef-fect on students’ health and well-being.

“There is concrete evidence proving thatteens with adequate sleep have improvedlearning, better memory, and a brighteroutlook,” said Beth Steel, who advocatedfor later start times on behalf of SLEEP at arecent school board hearing.

As a follow-up motion to approving theFY 2015 budget, the school board passed amotion recommending that SuperintendentKaren Garza identify savings from the 2014annual bus route review and earmarks thosesavings to offset the possible cost of imple-menting later high school start times.

THE MOTION was introduced by MasonDistrict School Board member and SLEEPco-founder Sandy Evans.

“I offer this motion as a very modest ap-proach to earmarking some transportationfunds to help implement later high schoolstart times,” Evans said. “We find efficien-cies in our bus service. If we find these effi-ciencies, it simply makes sense to recognizethat these resources may soon be neededto implement improved bell schedules.”Evans stressed that the motion does notchange the transfer request of the FY 2015proposed budget, and does not take moneyout of any other budgets.

“As we look at the best approach to makesure that all of our students, K through 12,have healthy schedules, it’s important to

show that we’re looking ahead and movingin the right direction,” Evans said. “Thecommunity has been waiting a long timefor this. This is a small way for us to saythat we do indeed care about and are com-mitted to the physical, emotional and aca-demic health of our teen students.”

Springfield District School Board mem-ber Elizabeth Schultz and Providence Dis-trict School Board member Patty Reed re-ferred to an April 2012 resolution adoptedby the board, which aimed to start highschools after 8 a.m., as a reason to approvethis motion.

“We have the opportunity right now todemonstrably put our foot down and say,as we identify savings, we are going to makestrides to fulfilling the promise that the reso-lution set more than a year ago. We’re notgoing to do it with no money. This is thetime for us to say, we choose to take thenext step,” Schultz said.

SLEEP, which stands for Start Later forExcellence in Education Proposal, has beenadvocating for later start times in FairfaxCounty since 2004.

“It was April 2012 that this board set thegoal of later start times for high schoolers.This board has also established the goal ofphysical health and safety and well-beingof our students. For those reasons, I feel thatwe need to be pursuing this with addedhaste and zest,” Reed said.

SLEEP ADVOCATES voiced their concernsfor implementing a later start time as soonas possible at the last public hearing on thebudget on Jan. 27.

“In some respects, this is the longest run-ning community engagement project thatFCPS has ever had. Now, it is time to act,”said SLEEP advocate Phyllis Payne.

Mount Vernon School Board member DanStorck was among the supporters of Evans’motion.

“All we are asking for is that with any sav-ings that we have, from now on in a sense,at least in this budget year, that we will in-vest that in the way that this board has al-ready said that we should invest it, whichis in our kids, giving them an opportunityto get a little more sleep at night, to be alittle more rested and do better in schoolfrankly,” Storck said.

Money saved from annual bus route review will beearmarked for implementation of later start times.

School Board Votes for Longer SLEEP

SLEEP advocate Beth Steel speaks in favor of later high school starttimes at a recent school board public hearing.

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Fairfax County Public Schools student Stuart Orloff spoke in support oflater high school start times at the public hearing on Jan. 27.

The Northern Virginia RegionalMATHCOUNTS competitions were held on Sat-urday, Feb. 1, at Lake Braddock SecondarySchool in Burke and at the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office in Alexandria. This year, be-cause of the exceptionally large number ofstudents participating, the Regional competi-tion had to be split between two venues. Theone held at Lake Braddock was a combinedcompetition for VSPE’s Fairfax and GeorgeWashington Chapter Areas while the one at theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office was for theNorthern VA Chapter Area. These chapters in-clude schools in Fairfax and Arlington countiesas well as the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church,Fairfax City and Vienna.

More than 450 sixth through eighth gradestudents from 55 elementary and middleschools competed at the events. These studentshave been practicing since the fall and were se-lected to represent their respective schools atthe competitions. Students compete as schoolteams and as individuals.

The winning teams are the following schools,team members and coach:

❖ Fairfax Chapter1. Nysmith School (Shwetark Patel, Shaan

Bhandarkar, Akshaj Kadaveru, Ajit Kadaveru.coach: JoMarie Broccoli)

2. Rocky Run Middle School (Jushua Lee, Will-iam Li, Minsuk Kang, Edward Sun. coach: MelanieRoller)

3. Rachel Carson Middle School (Lillian Wang,Sujay Ratna, Kavya Kopparapu, Ruiran Xun. coach:Angie Cahill)

❖ George Washington Chapter1. Sangster Elementary School (Jerry Li, Jenny

Li, David Sun, Joon Mun. coach: James Sun)2. Saint Bernadette School (Christopher Nguyen,

Emily Shin, Sheridan Monroe, Danny McGarvey.coach: Lorraine Lichtenberger)

3. Mark Twain Middle School (VandanaSubramanian, Ayman Slamani, Lydia You,Mekedas Belayneh. coach: Rachel Moneypenny)

❖ Northern VA Chapter1. Longfellow Middle School (Aaditya Singh,

Scott Becker, Franklyn Wang, William Sun, coach:Mary Jo Clark)

2. Luther Jackson Middle School (Wonwook Do,Spencer Durham, Joshua Sahaya Arul, Akrit Sinha.coach: Krystal Fung)

3. Haycock Elementary school (Sabrina Cai,Cathy Liang, Kathy Wu, Nicole Sim. coach: MaryJo Clark)

The top scoring individuals in each chapter arethe following:

❖ Fairfax Chapter1. Shwetark Patel, Nysmith School, coach:

JoMarie Boccoli2. Neeyanth Kopparapu, Floris Elementary

School, coach: Gail Porter3. Kyle Gatesman, Frost Middle School, coach:

Maura Sleevi4. Joshua Lee, Rocky Run Middle School, coach:

Melanie Roller❖ George Washington Chapter1. Jerry Li, Sangster Elementary School, coach:

James Sun2. Philip Phan, Holmes Middle School, coach:

Pavan Krishnan3. Jenny Li, Sangster Elementary School, coach:

James Sun4. Christopher Nguyen, Saint Bernadette

School, coach: Lorraine Lichtenberger❖ Northern VA Chapter1. Aaditya Singh, Longfellow Middle School,

coach: Mary Jo Clark2. Scott Becker, Longfellow Middle School,

coach: Mary Jo Clark3. Franklyn Wang, Longfellow Middle School,

coach: Mary Jo Clark4. Fred Zhang, Longfellow Middle School,

coach: Mary Jo ClarkThe top two teams and top four individuals

that are not on the top two teams from theFairfax Chapter, and the winning team and toptwo individuals that are not on the winningteam each from George Washington and North-ern Virginia Chapters will advance to competeat the Virginia State MATHCOUNTS competi-tion to be held on March 15 at the DominionPower facility in Glen Allen, Va.

Additional information on the nationalMATHCOUNTS program is available atwww.mathcounts.org and local information atwww.nova-mathcounts.org

MATHCOUNTS Champions


Email announcements to [email protected]. Photos wel-come.

ONGOINGThe Airbus IMAX Theater at

National Air and SpaceMuseum Udvar-Hazy Center,14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway,is showing movies including“Hubble,” “Fighter Pilot,” “HiddenUniverse” and “The Dream is Alive”.Visit http://airandspace.si.edu/udvarhazy/ or call 703-572-4118 forthe movie schedule.

Super Science Saturdays. 10 a.m.-3p.m. the second Saturday of eachmonth at the Steven F. Udvar-HazyCenter, 14390 Air & Space MuseumParkway. Visit http://airandspace.si.edu/udvarhazy.

Sully Historic Site. 3650 HistoricSully Way, Chantilly. Enjoy guidedtours of the 1794 home of NorthernVirginia’s first congressman, RichardBland Lee. $7/adult; $6/student; $5/senior and child. Hours are 11 a.m.-4p.m. 703-437-1794.

Art Exhibit. See “Songs of the Shore,”archival inkjet prints by Chantillyresident Peter Toth in the MargaretW. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery,of the Rachel M. Schlesinger ConcertHall & Arts Center, 3001 N.Beauregard St. Runs through March16. Visit www.nvcc.edu/schlesingercenter/gallery.html.

Art Exhibit. Paintings by Centrevilleartist Rosemary Gallick will be ondisplay Feb. 19-March 28 at theAtrium gallery at the WoodbridgeCampus of Northern VirginiaCommunity College, 15200 NeabscoMills Road. “Diversity in Music:Crossing Gender and Race” honorsthe talents of many artists. Free. E-mail [email protected], visit

nvcc.edu or 703-878-5797.

THURSDAY/FEB. 13Magic and Mayhem. 7 p.m. at

Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Girls and boys ingrades 6-8 can participate in this sci-fi/fantasy book group. Call for title.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Civil War Lecture. 7 p.m. atCentreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germain Drive. Adults and schoolage children can hear “How GrantWon and Lee Lost the Civil War,” byauthor and historian EdwardBonekemper. Free. 703-830-2223.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY/FEB. 13-15Valentine’s Day at the Animal

Shelter. Visit the Fairfax CountyAnimal Shelter, 4500 W. Ox Road,Fairfax, and enjoy free sweets, hands-on fun with kittens and puppies andfee-waived adoptions on 10 of theshelter’s animals. Learn about theshelter, interact with the animals andlearn how to become a volunteer orfoster. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/animal/adoption.htm or call703-830-1100.

FRIDAY/FEB. 14Have a Heart Hop. Lesson at 8:30

p.m., dancing from 9 p.m.-midnightat Dulles Hilton, 13869 Park CenterRoad, Herndon. There will be a silentauction to raise money for Lucky DogAnimal Rescue, and Honor Flight,live music, desserts and more. $20/advance; $25/door. $5 of each ticketbenefit the charities. Visitwww.haveahearthop.org for more.

Ready for School Storytime. 1:30p.m. at Chantilly Regional Library,

4000 Stringfellow Road. Childrenages 4-5 can enjoy stories and more.Free. 703-502-3883.

Guided Tour. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at SullyHistoric Site, 3650 Historic SullyWay, Chantilly. Learn about couplesin history, such as Richard Bland Leeand Elizabeth, Jacob and Amy Haightand others. $7/adult; $6/student;$5/child, senior. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully-historic-site or call 703-437-1794.

Music Performance. 5 p.m. in theChantilly High School auditorium,4201 Stringfellow Road. TheUniversity of Delaware WindEnsemble will perform a free concert.Select students from the bands atChantilly and Centreville highschools will be invited to performwith them on stage.

SATURDAY/FEB. 15Small Wonders. 10:30 a.m. at

Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Children ages 12-23 months can enjoy rhymes, songsand more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Bouncin’ Babies. 11:30 a.m. atChantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Babies up to 11months can enjoy rhymes, songs,stories and more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Lego Mania. 12:30 p.m. at ChantillyLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road. Forchildren in grades K-2. Free.Registration required, 703-502-3883.

Magic. Max Major will perform“THINK: An Evening of Mind Readingand Magic” at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.at the Winery at Bull Run, 15950 LeeHighway, Centreville. For tickets,visit www.maxmajor.net.

See Calendar, Page 16

Entertainment


Sports

By Jon Roetman

Centre View

Robinson won the team title andOakton earned a region berth byfinishing runner-up at the Con-ference 5 gymnastics meet on

Feb. 6 at Centreville High School. But whenit came to individual dominance, Westfieldsenior Katie Freix was in a class by herself.

Freix won the all-around championship,finishing with a score of 36.925. No othergymnast in the conference produced a scoreof 35.

Freix finished first on floor (9.525), vault(9.5) and bars (9.1), and tied for fifth onbeam (8.8). She was the only gymnast toscore in the 9s on bars.

“I had probably close to my best perfor-mances on all my events, except for beam,”Freix said. “… I definitely had my best barroutine. I’ve been having trouble hitting barsrecently, so it was really cool to actually hitthe bar routine.”

The top four all-around finishers qualifyfor regionals. Robinson freshman CarolineBurda placed second (34.9), and Herndonfreshman Alexa Bradley and Robinson se-nior Sarah Gross tied for third (34.5).

The 6A North region meet was scheduledfor Wednesday, Feb. 12, but was postponeddue to inclement weather.

“It would be cool if I could have a meetwhere I hit everything,” Freix said whenasked about her goals or expectations forregionals. “I’ve always had the goal of get-ting a 38 all-around [score].”

Westfield senior Frankie Barron qualifiedfor regionals on bars and beam. She tiedfor seventh on bars with a score of 8.425and placed eighth on beam with a score of8.55.

The top eight individuals in each event,along with any other gymnastics who scoreat least a 9, qualify for regionals.

Chantilly freshman Sophie Behrendplaced second on floor with a score of 9.1.She also qualified on vault, tying for fifthwith a score of 8.7. Sophomore EliseMazzone placed fourth on beam (8.975)and tied for sixth on floor (8.3). Senior LucyKlene took sixth on bars (8.45) and sopho-more Sara Laiti tied for seventh (8.425).

Robinson captured the team champion-ship. The Rams won, or tied for first, in eachof the four events and produced a total scoreof 135.4. Oakton finished second with ascore of 132.575, followed by Westfield(130.575), Chantilly (129.65), Herndon(122.45) and Centreville (105.375).

Robinson won the Concorde Districtchampionship in 2012. The six schools be-came Conference 5 after the VHSL’s six-classrealignment prior to the 2013-14 schoolyear.

“They definitely performed very well to-day,” first-year Robinson head coach Char-lotte Edwards said. “They were more con-sistent than they normally are. … They’redefinitely peaking at the right time. Our firstcouple meets weren’t that successful.”

Burda, a freshman, finished first on beam

(9.15), third on bars (8.625), fourth onvault (8.75) and tied for eighth on floor(8.375).

“She is only a freshman and she did agreat job,” Edwards said, “but there’s defi-nitely some things we’re going to work onbefore regionals, so when we look at theirscore sheets we’ll see if we can make somemore adjustments so she can get a couplemore points on some event.”

Burda said beam was her best event. Shewas one of just three gymnasts to score a 9or better in the event.

“I thought that I did the best I could andI’m really proud of myself,” Burda said be-tween smiles after the meet. “This has beenmy best meet so far this season.”

Gross placed third on floor (9) and vault(8.85), tied for fifth on beam (8.8) and fin-ished 11th on bars (8).

“She performed very well,” Edwards said.“Even on her [least]-favorite event, balancebeam, she had a solid routine, so that wasvery exciting and I think that made a bigdifference in her all-around score.”

Robinson freshman Emily Gross placedthird on vault (8.85) and tied for sixth on

floor (8.4). Junior Bailey Young tiedfor second on beam with a score of 9.

Oakton advanced to regionals witha runner-up team finish despite hav-ing the smallest roster in the confer-ence with just eight healthy competi-tors.

“We feel that’s where we differ froma lot of teams, especially being thesmallest squad in our conference,”Oakton head coach Frankie Orbaczwrote in an email. “Everyone has a tonof talent and everyone contributedequally to our fantastic team score.Most other teams have a few standoutsthat lead the team and sweep the med-als, but we really have so much talentin every girl. We are very well-rounded.

Standings-wise, four of our eight girlsmedaled and placed, which means halfof our team would have advanced toregions if we hadn’t made it as a team.We were so impressed! That’s a prettyfantastic showing.”

The state meet is scheduled for Feb.21-22 at Salem High School in VirginiaBeach.

“It’s amazing,” Burda said of winningthe Conference 5 championship.“We’ve worked so hard this season. It’sjust great to have it all come together.”

Robinson wins teamchampionship, Oaktonfinishes second.

Westfield’s Freix Wins Conference 5 All-Around Title

Westfield senior Katie Freix won the all-around championship at theConference 5 gymnastics meet on Feb. 6 at Centreville High School.

“I had probably close tomy best performances onall my events, except forbeam. … I definitely hadmy best bar routine. I’vebeen having troublehitting bars recently, so itwas really cool to actuallyhit the bar routine.”

— Westfield senior Katie Freix

Bulletin Board

Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline is Thursdayat noon. Photos welcome.

MONDAY/MARCH 3Application Deadline. Noon. The online

application for the Military Officers Associationof America Educational Assistance Programs forthe 2014-2015 school year is now availableonline at https://scholarship.moaa.org/login.aspx. Students can apply for the interest-free loans and grants at www.moaa.org/education. Applicants must be graduating highschool seniors or full-time college studentsworking toward their first undergraduatedegree. Visit www.moaa.org/scholarshipfund ore-mail [email protected].

Art Contest Deadline. American DisposalServices is holding a regional recycling themedart contest for all students grades 1-12 fromArlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier,Frederick, King George, Loudoun, PrinceWilliam, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.Winning artwork will be displayed in American’s

new, state of the art, recycling processingfacility; The American Recycling Center. Amonetary prize will also be awarded to allwinners. The theme of the contest is ‘The Impactof Recycling on the Environment.’ For fullcontest details, information and guidelines visitwww.americandisposal.com/site_images/pdfs/ADSArtContestGuidelines-Application.pdf.

THURSDAY/MARCH 6Support Group. 7-8:30 p.m. at Centreville

Regional Library, 14200 St. Germaine Drive. Forpeople who have lost a loved one within the pasttwo years. Free. [email protected] or 703-396-6198.

FRIDAY/MARCH 7Silent Auction. Navy Elementary School, 500 W.

Ox Road, is sponsoring a silent auction withproceeds benefiting the school. Visit navypto.orgor 703-927-9606 to find out if you can donateitems.

WEDNESDAY/MARCH 12Fairfax County Park Authority Board

Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building,12055 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.Free. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/boardagn2.htm for meeting materials, archivesand more. For more information contact thePublic Information Office at 703-324-8662.

MONDAY/MARCH 17Meeting. 7 p.m. in the Cale Community Center,

4615 Stringfellow Road. The GFWC WesternFairfax County Woman’s Club, will host apresentation on “”Intelligence in the Civil War”by Dr. David Robarge, Chief Historian of theCentral Intelligence Agency. Free. Visitwww.wfcwc.org or [email protected] for more.

TUESDAY/MARCH 18Sale Deadline. Sales have now begun for the

Westfield High School Mulch Sale. Get double

shredded hardwood mulch delivered to helpraise money for a safe and sober graduationparty for the Class of 2014, as well as other vitalPTSA programs. A WHS Athletic Team will evenspread your mulch if you want, at only $2 perbag. Free delivery or pick up is March 29. Visithttp://ptsa.westfieldhs.org.

THURSDAY/MARCH 20Support Group. 7-8:30 p.m. at Centreville

Regional Library, 14200 St. Germaine Drive. Forpeople who have lost a loved one within the pasttwo years. Free. E-mail [email protected] 703-396-6198.

WEDNESDAY/MARCH 26Fairfax County Park Authority Board

Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Herrity Building,12055 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.Free. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/boardagn2.htm for meeting materials, archivesand more. For more information contact thePublic Information Office at 703-324-8662.

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Sports Editor Jon Roetman

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News

From Page 4

WHS Presents One-Act Plays

Zack Walsh

There’s a cast of about 13and some roles are double-cast. Playing the interview-ers are Selena Clyne-Galindo and AndrewBrockmeyer. Said Edner:“It’s funny, fast-paced andfarcical, so the audience willreally enjoy watching it.”

Calling directing challeng-ing, he said, “At first, I had ahard time speaking out forwhat I wanted and explain-ing it to the actors. And di-rectors have to keep track ofevery, single second of theplay and how it’s going toappear onstage.”

‘SuddenlyLast Summer’

A drama by playwrightTennessee Williams, “Suddenly Last Summer” is di-rected by senior Hanna Soudah. “It’s about a girl inher mid-20s, Catherine, who’s been put into a men-tal asylum by her aunt,” she said. “The aunt blamesCatherine for her son’s death while they were in aforeign country together.”

There are seven people in the cast. Elizabeth Cooportrays Catherine; Jake Ehrlich, a doctor at the asy-lum; and Estella Massey, the aunt. “It’s different fromthe other plays because of the dark subject matterand because the way Catherine describes her cousin’sdeath isn’t something anyone would believe,” saidSoudah. “I think the audience will like this play’soddity and its surprise twist.”

Besides that, she added, “My cast is amazing. Forexample, Stephen Cox joined, the last minute, andpicked up his character immediately.”

As for directing, Soudah said, “I’ve absolutely lovedit. We’re all really good friends, which helps withthe process. And they understand what I mean whenI say, ‘I need you to do this,’ which is fabulous. I alsolearned that directors have to be patient with people.I love acting, but I’d definitely try my hand at direct-ing again.”

‘Two-Character Play’Senior Julian Sanchez is directing Tennessee

Williams’s “The Two-Character Play,” part comedyand part drama. “It’s about a brother-and-sister act-ing duo abandoned in a theater by their actingtroupe,” said Sanchez. “So, left with an expectantaudience, they decide to do an original play of theirown, ‘The Two-Character Play.’”

Portraying the duo are Brandon Sanchez as Felice

and Olivia Witt as Claire.“Over the course of the play,reality and fiction start toblur,” said Julian Sanchez.“So you never really knowwhat’s the truth and what’sfiction onstage.”

He said directing thisshow made him empathizewith “the director’s plight.You need to elicit the per-formance you want fromyour actors without tellingthem exactly what to do.You walk a fine line so theirperformance is both natu-ral and structured. I’ve en-joyed it so much; I likeworking closely with myfriends and exploring vul-nerable places with peopleI trust.”

As for this play, Sanchezsaid, “I think the audiencewill enjoy it because it’s not

a traditional, Williams piece with Southern accentsand set in New Orleans. Ours is set in a nonspecificplace with high drama.”

‘Spelling Bee’“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is

directed by senior Zack Walsh. “It’s a musical and,unlike the other one-acts, we’re doing the full, 90-minute show,” he said. “It takes place in a school,and some spellers are scripted characters, but othersare improvised by people we pull from the audience.”

The play has a cast of nine and, during the courseof the story, the audience learns about eachcharacter’s life. “We’re having so much fun with it,”said Walsh. “The script is excellent and it’s one ofthe funniest shows I’ve ever seen, but with a heart toit. The songs are entertaining and the improv makesit a constantly changing show.”

He’s also enjoyed directing. “I’ve never directedanything this long, or a musical, so it’s different andnew,” he said.

“And directing my friends is fun. I learned howmuch of the show is the director’s responsibility andhow much effort and time goes into it. I understandbetter some of the directions that were given to meas an actor, and I think I’ll be a better actor nowbecause I was a director.”

Walsh noted that this play is “PG-13” because “it’sfairly edgy in some of the language and subject mat-ter,” and he said the audience should really like it.“My cast is fantastic,” said Walsh. “They’re hysteri-cally funny and excellent dramatic actors, as well.And they’re completely committed to this play; it’sreally coming together and I couldn’t be prouder.”

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Volunteers Needed

Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline isThursday at noon. Photos welcome.

Fairfax County needs Meals onWheels drivers in Chantilly andgroup Meals on Wheels coordinators inboth Chantilly and Fairfax. Contact Vol-unteer Solutions at 703-324-5406, TTY711, [email protected] or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/olderadultservices/vol-unteer-solutions.htm.

The Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programneeds volunteer advocates for residentsin assisted living and nursing facilitiesthroughout the area. Volunteers canwork in facilities close to where theylive. Training is provided in March2014.

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olderadultservices/ltcombudsman/vol_ombud_program.htm.

Northern Virginia Family Ser-vice is seeking volunteers to organizecollection drives of toiletries productsfor clients in need. Requested items in-clude such things as shampoo, soap,lotion, deodorant, hand sanitizer, tooth-brushes and toothpaste. Learn moreabout Northern Virginia Family Serviceat www.nvfs.org and contact ColleenRoss [email protected] if interested.


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Not that I minded it in the least (in fact, Iappreciated it in the most), but I receivedmy first senior discount the other day. I wasfast-fooding at my local Roy Rogers restau-rant when the unexpected kindnessoccurred. Considering that I’m not at theage yet when such discounts are typicallyavailable, I certainly did not (do not) pre-sume that my appearance somehow reflectsan age which I am not. In truth, I don’tbelieve it does. So even though I didn’t askfor the age-related discount, I was offered/given it nonetheless. As the cashier talliedmy bill, she then spoke the price andadjusted it downward 10 percent for mysurprise “senior” discount. On hearing thelower price and the reason for it, I immedi-ately responded: “Oh, you’re giving seniordiscounts to people over 40?” To which shereplied, while looking me directly in theeye: “No. Over 30.” Laughing at her quick-thinking quip, I thanked her again for thediscount and commended her on her excel-lent answer/customer service.

Without making this too much a cancercolumn, a terminal diagnosis at age 54 anda half sort of means that certain realities,benefits and inevitabilities (if you live longenough, which after receiving my diagno-sis/prognosis seemed unlikely) are off thetable; heck they’re likely on the floor wait-ing to be swept up and placed in the trashbin (been and gone, you might say). I refergenerally to the kinds of things associatedwith turning 65: retirement, Social Security,Medicare, and of course, “senior discounts.”After hearing what I heard, reaching age 55seemed challenging enough.

To be honest though, and you regularreaders know I’m honest, maybe painfullyso; after receiving the incredibly discourag-ing and grim news concerning my diagnosisfrom my oncologist five years ago, I didn’treally think about the parts of my life that Iwould be missing since my future was, atthat point, seriously in doubt. If I recall, mymindset back then wasn’t on the future Iwas losing because of my disease, it wasmore about the present that I was living andbeing as proactive as possible to try and liveas long as I could. Moreover, given therather morbid tone I was hearing from myoncologist, it sounded as if I’d be lucky tohave a present, let alone a future. A “13-month to two-year prognosis” (out of theblue no less; I was asymptomatic and a life-long non-smoker) followed by an admissionfrom my doctor that he can’t “cure me, buthe can treat me;” and a further reply to mywife Dina’s query as to why there aren’t anyparades for lung cancer survivors, as thereseem to be for breast cancer survivors:“Because there aren’t any” (survivors that is)hardly reinforce a lung cancer patient’sfuture prospects.

Yet here I write, nearly five years post-diagnosis, receiving the previously (given mylife expectancy) unimaginable senior dis-count. And though there are likely fewerguarantees now and even less certainty for astage IV, non-small cell lung cancer survivorfive years out and still living, I don’t dis-count the significance of any discounts. Atthis juncture, I deserve any I can get.Besides, I think I’ve earned them.

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Schools

Auston O’Neill, Jr. a bugler with the“Bugler’s Across America” organiza-tion, kicked off a two-year national

tour at Rocky Run Middle School on Fri-day, Feb. 7.

To be able to start this tour, O’Neill andhis wife, Connie, had to sell their Centrevillehome. They then purchased an RV whichthey had decorated with information abouthim and the “Spirit of ’45” program of whichhe is a member. Rocky Run was chosen asthe site to kick off his tour because of theschool’s involvement in the “Spirit of ’45”program that works to keep the memory ofthe heroes who died during World War II.

Students and staff members carry aposter-sized picture of a fallen soldier, sailoror airman in the annual Memorial Day Pa-rade in D.C. Rocky Run also hosts an an-nual tribute to World War II veterans withits “World War II Oral History Day.” Thisyear marks the 14th year the school has puton this program in which more than 100WW II veterans spend the day sharing theirstories with Rocky Run’s 7th grade historystudents. This year’s WW II Day is sched-uled for Friday, June 6, which is also the70th anniversary of the D-Day landings atNormandy.

O’Neill became involved with “Bugler’sAcross America” following his father’s deathand burial. His father, a World War II vet-eran was not given the traditional “Taps”ceremony at his funeral and this inspiredO’Neill to join “Bugler’s Across America”which performs at funerals and ceremoniesall over the country.

Stops along their cross-country trip areplanned at Bedford, Va. for a wreath-layingceremony at the National D-Day Memorial;a performance of Taps in honor of the 66Tuskegee Airmen who were killed in action;a media event at the Alamo in San Anto-nio, Texas, honoring Audie Murphy andLatino WW II veterans; a “Spirit of ’45”media event in Phoenix, Ariz., and a mediaevent at San Diego’s Balboa Park.

O’Neill will be returning to the D.C. area

in May in time for the annual Memorial Dayparade and is planning to attend RockyRun’s World War II Day, where he will per-form Taps as part of the opening ceremonyto commemorate those veterans who havedied. Before leaving Rocky Run, O’Neill re-ceived a poster-sized photo of last year’sWW II Day which was autographed by theentire 7th grade, Rocky Run bumper stick-ers, and coffee cups. He had a chance to

address several classes of 7th and 8th grad-ers and spoke of why he is taking on thistrip and the importance to him and to theyounger generation even in the middle ofhis radiation treatments for cancer.

Warren Hegg, national supervisor of the“Spirit of ’45” introduced O’Neill, followedby a presentation from history teacher,Jamie Sawatzky, and students Ann Silva andAlex Hale.

Rocky Run Middle School students and Auston O’Neill in front of his Spirit of ’45 RV.

Rocky Run Middle School students watch as Auston O’Neill plays Taps.

Rocky Run History teacher Jamie Sawatzky and Principal AnthonyTerrell present a poster to Auston O’Neill.

National Tour Starts at Rocky Run MS

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Entertainment

SUNDAY/FEB. 16Magic. Max Major will perform

“THINK: An Evening of Mind Readingand Magic” at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.at the Winery at Bull Run, 15950 LeeHighway, Centreville. For tickets,visit www.maxmajor.net.

Music Performance. 7-9 p.m. atCentreville Baptist Church, 15100Lee Highway, Centreville. Hear jazzclassics performed by the 19-pieceFranklin Park Big Band. Suggesteddonation $10/person or $30/familyof three or more. Tickets at the door.Visit movinternational.org or 703-989-1792.

MONDAY/FEB. 17Fairfax County Public Libraries

Closed.

TUESDAY/FEB. 18Toddlin’ Twos. 10:30 a.m. or 11:30

a.m. at Chantilly Regional Library,4000 Stringfellow Road. Children age2 can enjoy stories and activities.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Storytime. 1:30 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Children age 3-5 can enjoysongs, stories and more. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Ravenous Readers. 7 p.m. at

From Page 11 Centreville Library, 14200 St.Germain Drive. Students in grades 7-12 can discuss books. Drop-inswelcome. Free. 703-830-2223.

Pajama Storytime. 7 p.m. at ChantillyLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children ages 1-6 can wear pjs andbring a cuddly friend and blanketand enjoy bedtime stories. Free.Registration required, 703-502-3883.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 19Read, Build, Play. Duplo Story

Time. 10:30 a.m. at ChantillyLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children ages 3-5 months can enjoystories and more. Free. Registrationrequired, 703-502-3883.

Time for Tots. 11 a.m. at CentrevilleLibrary, 14200 St. Germain Drive.Children ages2-3 can enjoy storiesand activities. Free. 703-830-2223.

We Shall Not Be Moved. 7 p.m. atChantilly Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Author M.J. O’Brien willdiscuss the 1963 Civil Rights sit-in atthe lunch counter in Jackson,Mississippi. Special guest will beJoan Trumpauer Mulholland whowas a participant in the sit-in. Free.Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Starlight Storytime. 7 p.m. atCentreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germain Drive. Children of allages can wear pajamas and bring afavorite stuffed friend and enjoystories and fun. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-830-2223.

Music Performance. 7 p.m. atCentreville High School, 6001 UnionMill Road, Clifton. The high schoolband will perform. Visitwww.fcps.edu/CentrevilleHS.

THURSDAY/FEB. 20Toddlin’ Twos. 10:30 a.m. or 11:30

a.m.at Chantilly Regional Library,4000 Stringfellow Road. Children age2 can enjoy stories and activities.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Storytime. 2 p.m. at Chantilly RegionalLibrary, 4000 Stringfellow Road.Children age 3-5 can enjoy songs,stories and more. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

The End (Or is It?) Book Club. 7:30p.m. at Chantilly Regional Library,4000 Stringfellow Road. Girls andboys in grades 5-6 can discuss abook. Call for title. Free. Registrationrequired. 703-502-3883.

Music Performance. 7 p.m. atCentreville High School, 6001 UnionMill Road, Clifton. The high schoolband will perform. Visitwww.fcps.edu/CentrevilleHS.

FRIDAY/FEB. 21Home + Garden Show. 10 a.m.-9

p.m. at Dulles Expo Center, 4320Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly.Headlining the event is HGTV’s “CurbAppeal” host John Gidding and“Design Star” Jennifer Bertrand.

More than 375 companies willshowcase the latest products andservices. $10/adult; $7/adult online;$3/child age 6-12; free for childrenunder 5. Visit www.capitalhomeandgardenshow.com. Also on Saturday,Feb. 22 and Sunday, Feb. 23.

Bouncin’ Babies. 3 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Babies up to 11 months canenjoy rhymes, songs, stories andmore. Free. Registration required.703-502-3883.

Small Wonders. 4 p.m. at ChantillyRegional Library, 4000 StringfellowRoad. Children ages 12-23 monthscan enjoy rhymes, songs and more.Free. Registration required. 703-502-3883.

Swing Dance. Lesson at 8:30 p.m.,dancing from 9 p.m.-midnight atHilton Washington Dulles Airport,13869 Park Center Road, Herndon.Dance to music by Daryl Davis Band.$15. Visit www.gottaswing.com or703-359-9882.

SATURDAY/FEB. 22Peaceful Paws. 10:30 a.m. at

Chantilly Regional Library, 4000Stringfellow Road. Children on theautism spectrum or otherdevelopmental challenges meet andread to Dakota. Reading is notrequired, but can read from a librarybook or an owned one. Free.Registration required, 703-502-3883.

Email announcements to [email protected]. Deadline isThursday at noon. Photos welcome.

MONDAYS/JAN. 13-MARCH 31Conversational English. 7:30-9 p.m.

at Chantilly Bible Church, 4390Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly.There are four levels: beginning,basic, intermediate, and advanced.There is also a citizenship class. Thisis the eighth year church membershave offered this free program.Childcare provided. Call 703-263-1188, ext. 15.

TUESDAY/FEB. 18Presentation. 7 p.m. at Cale

Community Center, 4615Stringfellow Road. GFWC WesternFairfax County Woman’s Club(WFCWC) will host a presentation on“Library Update: Not the Library ofYour Youth.” Daria Parnes, branchmanager of the Chantilly RegionalLibrary, will discuss how libraries arechanging to meet societal demands,and, specifically, the exciting thingsthat the Chantilly Regional Library isdoing for the community. Free. Visitwww.wfcwc.org, call Marion at 703-631-7093, or e-mail us [email protected].

THURSDAY/FEB. 20Support Group. 7-8:30 p.m. at

Centreville Regional Library, 14200St. Germaine Drive. For people whohave lost a loved one within the pasttwo years. Free. [email protected] or 703-396-6198.

Information Meeting. AssistanceLeague is looking for new members.Assistance League provides weekendfood for elementary school children,new clothing for children, readingtutoring and comfort items tosurvivors of sexual assault. Foodpacking and information meetingfrom 10 a.m.-noon at DominionVirginia Power, 3072 CentrevilleRoad., Herndon. [email protected], call 703-648-1822, or visitwww.northernvirginia.assistanceleague.orgfor more.

SATURDAY/FEB. 22Free Parent Education Seminar. 9-

1:30 a.m. at Montessori of Chantilly -Casa Dei Bambini, 4212F TechnologyCourt, Chantilly. Learn about theimpact of screen-time and technologyon children. Visit www.mcdbc.com or703-961-0211.

STEM-H Expo. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. atChantilly High School, 4201Stringfellow Road. Enjoy informationsessions, exhibits and demonstrationsfrom companies and groups inscience, technology, engineering,math or medical and health sciencescareer. Register atwww.surveymonkey.com/s/stem-h.

WEDNESDAY/FEB. 26Fairfax County Park Authority

Board Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in theHerrity Building, 12055 GovernmentCenter Parkway, Fairfax. Free. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/boardagn2.htm for meetingmaterials, archives and more. Formore information contact the PublicInformation Office at 703-324-8662.

THURSDAY/FEB. 27Fall Registration Open House.

9:30-11:30 a.m. at Clifton Children’sAcademy, 14315 Compton Road,Centreville. Bring your child and geta tour of the school. Register bycalling 703-968-8455. Visitwww.childrensacademy.com.

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The Anglican Church of the AscensionTraditional

Anglican Services

1928 Book ofCommon Prayer

1940 Hymnal

13941 Braddock Road, (north off Rte. 29) Centreville, VA703-830-3176 • www.ascension-acc.org

Holy Communion 10 A.M. Sundays(with Church School and Nursery)

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‘this school was my safe place’connection.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/... · 2/12/2014...

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